Snow Makes Everything Better
by uptightcrankyshadownet
Summary: Nikita/Alex at the playground one snowy afternoon. Fluff.


"It's really cold."

"But it'll be fun!"

"Alex!" Nikita gave the girl a hard stare, trying not to let her amusement show.

"Nikita!" Alex parroted back, insistently pulling her towards the playground. "Please? It'll help us get warm."

Nikita tucked her gloved hands into her fleece jacket pockets, exhaling so the air in front of her fogged up. Alex squealed and clapped her hands, knowing it was a sign of defeat, then began to run towards the vacant play area. Nikita shook her head in incredulity- every piece of play equipment at the playground was covered with a layer of thick, fluffy snow that gleamed in the sunlight. How did Alex expect them to play on this stuff? Even if they cleared off the snow, it'd be wet and freezing. And she was wearing a new pair of jeans. Great.

Alex was eagerly brushing away the snow onto the ground, clearing the seesaws, swings, slides, roundabouts and bouncy spring riders, beckoning to her mentor. "Come on, Nikita! The slides will be fun! No backing out! You have to slide down or buy pizza tonight!" She gestured zealously towards the jungle gym-esque centrepiece of the playground, then started working the monkey bars to get up onto one of the platforms. Nikita reluctantly began to climb the rope ladder netting, which she believed was certainly safer.

Until she got up onto the platform and realized that the only way to the sheltered slide was one of the infamous long red tubes that playgrounds were recognized for.

And she didn't want to buy pizza.

She suppressed a long groan as Alex gracefully eased herself up onto the opposite side of the connecting flue and looked curiously at Nikita, tilting her head towards the flat metal slide behind her mentor. "Aren't you going on the slide?"

"I'm afraid my butt might get stuck to it," Nikita answered dryly.

A wicked grin crossed Alex's face as she put the pieces together and realized that Nikita could either slide down that, or crawl through the tube to get to the covered slide. "Wait a moment, sensei, I need a photo of you clambering through that thing." Alex fumbled in her pocket for her mobile phone while Nikita closed her eyes and darted through the passageway as fast as she could, trying to lessen her embarrassment... though 'fast' wasn't considerably speedy, since the tube was made for children.

Not for a Nikita-sized person.

Alex had gotten a hefty number of blackmail photos by the time Nikita squeezed herself out of the other side. She lay there for a moment trying to erase her memory before muttering, "Alexandra Udinov, if you videoed any of that I will kill you."

"Oops." Alex giggled mischievously. "Better go then." With a triumphant chortle she pulled herself onto the slide and went back down onto the ground, leaving Nikita to follow her lead while wondering what had possessed her to agree to coming here.

Once she'd gotten her feet back on the ground, Alex had dashed over to one of the spring riders which was right beside the balance beams. "Nikita! Get on one, I'll take a photo for you!"

"No!"

"You can take one of me too!"

"Smart move." Nikita relented, edging herself onto a tiny child-sized bouncy elephant. "Alex, my feet are _touching _the ground."

"Well, put them on the supports."

Nikita gave her an incredulous glare, eyeing the miniature footrests on the side of the toy, then stretching her long legs out for Alex to see. "Excuse me?!"

Alex couldn't stop laughing as she opened her camera application. "Just for show, Nikita. You can take me on the horse. And the balance beam."

The older woman groaned and put her head in her hands. It was a wonderful shot for Alex, who hurriedly skipped up onto the curvy planks of wood and began to maneuver her way to the end, trying to keep her balance. Nikita took her chance for revenge, sidling up and prodding her protege just when Alex was concentrating her hardest to get up onto a higher corner. She yelped, nearly toppling off and flailing in a very unglamorous manner. "NIKITA!"

"That's for videoing me in that infernal tube." Nikita snickered. "Hurry up, the sandbox looks more interesting than you trying not to tumble off a couple of incredibly thin boards that aren't raised higher than your knee."

"Someone's getting into the spirit of things!" Alex chirped gleefully, punching her fist in jubilation.

She'd forgotten she was still on the balance beam. The victory yell preceded another not-so-joyful shout as Alex stepped out onto thin air and onto the carpeted floor of the playground. "Ow."

Nikita bit her lip, shaking with silent laughter as Alex picked herself up easily, staring judgmentally at her mentor and tsking. "You're evil."

"You can be a moron," Nikita retorted, picking up a brittle stick from just outside the playground borders. "Let's draw something in the sand."

Alex snatched the stick from her and began to draw meticulously. Nikita let her, simply observing as the heart began to take shape, followed by an 'N', a plus sign, and an 'A' with an elaborate finish. The stick was thrown behind Alex's shoulder as she extravagantly flung her arms out and intoned, "Tada!"

Nikita smiled affectionately, pulling Alex close to her. "It's not Van Gogh," She remarked with a loving tone layered in her voice. "But it's beautiful."

Flushing with satisfaction, the younger woman took a few snapshots, beaming at Nikita. "You know, I love you."

Nikita pressed a kiss to Alex's forehead. "I love you too, baby."

The moment was interrupted by the soft patter of a child's footsteps towards the recreation area, along with a paternal voice telling their son to 'slow down, daddy's tired'. Nikita and Alex exchanged looks, and then Alex bolted towards the swings and plonked herself onto one. "Quick, Niki! Before the kid comes!"

It was Nikita's turn to tut disapprovingly as she followed behind. "_You're _evil."

"Yep." Alex gave her a crooked smile and pushed off the slippery snow. "Whee!"


End file.
